Golden Goose Chase PostMortem

Successes:
1. Actually utilized UE5's graphics capabilities to some extent.

2. Wrote good code for about 8 hours before it turned into spaghetti that I never want to touch again, which is a new record.

3. First experience with teamwork for a jam. That was genuinely the only thing getting this project across the finish line in time (thanks Anna).

Lessons Learned:
1. There's a reason static Resident Evil-esque camera views were left in the past. Even when they work, they aren't that fun. Since this game is meant to be mouse-only, I'm not sure how else I would have done camera movement, but at least I know not to try this again (or spend more time working out perfect camera angles).

2. FLOW is key in Game Jams. A bored or frustrated player will instantly quit and play one of the 40 other games available to them. This game featured too much walking/downtime to maintain that flow state (and the walking could be particularly frustrating too).

3. My goal with these jams is to learn UE5 but I hardly had time to experiment this weekend. Game Jams are like exams, but I've been skipping the homework. Next month I'll take part in a month-long jam to give me time to experiment with cool new systems.

4. Game Jam rating is hostile to download only games (all of them in the jam ended up in the bottom 8ish with mine being the highest). This is due to fewer reviews causing a score penalty and review-bombers having a greater effect. I'd like to run a download-only jam in the future to level the playing field, perhaps a month long to suit the goal of #3.